Transcript

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>> And I keep my promises to the workers of this country.>> President Trump making a swing through the American heartland on Thursday, talking up his efforts to overhaul global trade. But also facing the real world consequences of his confrontational approach to the issue. I'm Andy Sullivan, in Washington, where it's been an extraordinary week for Trump on the trade front.

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One day he's bailing out the farmers who've been hurt by his trade policies, the next day he's striking a surprise deal with Europe to avoid a potential trade war. And on Thursday, he's showing off what he says are the concrete result of all this activity, a revived steel mill in a city that's been hard hit by job losses.

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But Trump still has a ways to go before he can convince voters, including his own Republicans, that he's on the right path here. Trumps first stop, Iowa farm country, where growers are in line for a massive bailout.>> Make our farmers great again, isn't that->> Trump's setting aside $12 billion to help soybean farmers who've been caught in the crossfire of a trade war with China.

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>> They're not gonna win, just so you understand. We have all the cards. We're gonna win.>> Many Republican lawmakers are unhappy with that approach, saying they prefer free trade to government aid.>> And I think there are better tools that we can use.>> Trump next heading to Granite City, Illinois, where the local steel mill, which closed down years ago, is now firing up its furnaces and hiring hundreds of workers.

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Thanks in part to protective tariffs that Trump put in place earlier this year.>> Today the blast furnace here in Granite City is blazing bright and we are once again pouring new American steel into the spine of our country.>>

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>> Investors are less enthusiastic, selling of shares off Granite City's parent company US Steel, worried that Trump's newfound willingness to work with Europe could spell an end to the tariffs that have helped the company.

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>> America's fighting back and we're winning.>> Trump officials say to expect more news on the trade front soon. Treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin saying he expects to wrap up talks with Mexico and Canada on a revamped NAFTA deal. But there's no sign that Trump's getting anywhere with China.

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Beijing just blocked a massive Qualcom merger amid rising trade tensions. Those tensions are expected to get worse in the coming days and months, posing a potential threat to the global economy.